Wednesday, November 6, 2013

(Columbia, SC)– The 2013 edition of the Championship of Champions, hosted by
Columbia Sailing Club, came down to a dramatic conclusion Sunday. It
took all 16 races to determine this year's winner of the Jack Brown
Trophy. Three teams were in legitimate contention going into today's
final two races; remarkably, virtually every leading team was comprised
of top J/Boats sailors.

Brian Keane (Weston, Mass.) and crew
Steve Hunt (San Diego, Calif.) and Victor Diaz De Leon had a three point
lead over Betsy Alison (Newport, R.I.) and crew mates Will and Laura
Jeffers (Tarpon Springs, Fla.). Skip Dieball (Toledo, Ohio) and crew Tom
Starck (Avon Lake, Ohio) and Abby Freeman (Vermilion, Ohio) were seven
points back in third place.

Race 15 Sunday morning featured winds
out of the west at 5 to 8 knots. The Race Committee shortened the
course for the upwind finish. The race was won by Lee Sackett
(Cleveland, Ohio), followed by Greiner Hobbs (Tampa, Fla.) in second,
Alison in third, and Keane in fourth. Dieball placed 13th. Heading into
the final race of the regatta, Keane had a four point lead over Alison,
and Dieball was 11 points behind. Dieball went on to win Race 16,
followed by Keane and Starck.
Keane won the regatta by 10 points
over Dieball and Alison. Dieball won the tie-breaker to take second
place. Keane was representing the J/80 class, as the 2012 J/80 North
American Champion. Despite not winning any races this week, Keane
finished in the top three on seven occasions through 16 races. He placed
outside the top six just twice.

"We had never raced Lightnings
before, so it took us a while to get comfortable," said Keane. "We had
to learn how to accelerate, make tactical maneuvers, and the cadence of
the wind. It's a testament to this great event that allowed us to
compete at a high level. The boats were similar, which took away some of
the advantage that the Lightning sailors here had. Also, with the event
being held on a lake, it put the emphasis on reading the wind and
tactical positioning. It's not all about sailing fast."

US
Sailing’s Championship of Champions is recognized as one of the more
unique adult racing events in the country. All helmsmen qualified for
this event by winning a 2012 or 2013 one-design class National, North
American, or World Championship. Helmsmen and their crew were tested in
Lightnings over three days of racing on Lake Murray. For more US Sailing Championship of Champions sailing info